Fans shelled track officials for pulling the plug on the Pennsylvania Sprint Car Speed Week finale after a heavy downpour hit the Snyder County oval. The reaction was like the Activision video game “Call of Duty” on steroids.

First it was Facebook. Then it was on to the regular forums. People thought the cancelation was premature and indicated in venomous posts that the speedway “didn't try hard enough” to go on with the show.

These posts were ridiculous from conception. Especially when you consider that these people have never owned, operated or wrote out a check at a speedway for a night of racing.

The initial disappointment is understandable. Fans spend hours anticipating a night of racing. Some plan their vacations around such events like Speed Week and when an event is lost, you can understand the angst.

But in cases like this, logic turns to obsession and reasonable thinking is lost somewhere on a keyboard and the send button.

Obviously, these people missed the Facebook picture of water running across the track at Selinsgrove. They don't understand the amount of time it would have taken to run in a racing surface that big.

Try hours.

Forget that it was so humid that the surface probably wouldn't have run in properly. If track crews could have made headway, a two-division show featuring time trials, heats and features would have started at 10 p.m.

That means the final checkered flag would have fallen at 1 or 2 a.m. Not exactly what you want for your patrons on a work night.

Canceling wasn't only reasonable, it was the right choice.

Selinsgrove isn't the only facility that has come under fire. Williams Grove and Port Royal Speedway have endured similar criticism this season for canceling early or not trying harder to race after rain hit.

It seems there is a disconnect. Race fans think its still 1990. Speedways are living in today's economy where every buck matters.

Society has changed. There are weather apps on phones, The Weather Channel and various other weather sites. Fans have more access to updated forecasts and base their decisions on percentages and radars.

Tracks have to adjust to this thinking. It isn't as easy as flinging open the gates and watching the horde flock to the stands. A 40 or 50 percent chance of precipitation can mean a sparse crowd, and promoters can't afford to take too many hits.

If I owned a speedway, and it was 80 percent chance of rain and threatening at 5 p.m., I would call it a night.

There is no chivalry in losing money. It's not like fans are going to dig in their pockets to bail out a speedway that is in jeopardy of closing.

It has to be give and take. Fans need to be more understanding of a track shutting down for a night. Speedways need to show consistency in their cancelation policies, something that has been lacking at certain facilities this season.

As for Selinsgrove staying dark Sunday, they made the right call. They gained this fan by using common sense.

NOTES

-Australian Darren Mollenoyux competed in every Pennsylvania Sprint Car Speed Week show last week. When he is done competing in the United States, he will ship the car and parts back to Australia. It will cost him $7,000.

-Danny Lasoski will compete in the Kings Royal weekend at Eldora Speedway behind the wheel of the John Zemaitis No. 1Z. The Zemco team will miss the Dream Race at Port Royal Speedway next month and head to Knoxville.

-Speaking of the Kings Royal, we will be providing coverage of the two-day weekend at Tony Stewart's facility on pennlive.com. Daryn Pittman leads the World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series point standings and is our pick to win his second title. He won the event in 2008.